The Cuprien Empire was a federation of human provinces in western Oshmondu. It was primarily oriented towards economic safety and promulgation.

Government

The Council of Plenty ruled Cuprien. It was a parliament where representatives of all provinces, in numbers dependent on each province's size, deliberated and made policy decisions concerning imperial affairs. They ruled both the legislative and the executive branches, though imperial officers controlled most military affairs - the Council's authority was limited to emitting mandates, setting the budget, and the like.

The capital (the seat of the Palace of Plenty) was located in Delai from 920 to 887 b. OW, then Lord Trailer City until 263 b. OW, and then Pantof until 56 b. OW, then Landram, then Tromi from 12 OW on.

Accordingly, the imperial government was relatively small. The provinces were granted considerable autonomy; there was notably barely any imperial law (it concerned mostly economic rules), and the imperial military was very small throughout most of the empire's history. Imperial soldiers were paid with imperial funds, but most provinces preferred to keep the army small and instead have their own provincial militias. When wars began to take their toll and provincial militias were shown to be ineffective at waging imperial wars, the size of militias was restricted, and the imperial military was enlarged.

History

The Cuprien Empire was founded in 920 b. OW, primarily out of economic insecurity. Representatives of the six Surin communities in southern Litchy gathered because their access to metals from the Ironjaw mountains was threatened. They decided to form the Council of Plenty and establish an empire, though its primary purpose was to improve trade and to give the states some political leverage on their economic rivals.

The empire faced its first real challenge in 921 b. OW, during the Ironjaw Crisis. It managed to demonstrate that its imperial system functioned: military pressure could be leveraged, and the Ironjaw dwarves agreed to the Fair Mine Treaty.

The Ramson Dynasty

The province Duchy of Ramland gave economic support to its northern neighbor, the Nordic Kingdom, when the Nords began struggling due to desertification and warring from 890 on. Simultaneously, the increasingly radical militarist faction in the duchy was gaining traction, and Jukku Ramson - a man from a prominent family - took it over. As costs for supporting the Nords increased, so did Jukku's popularity, until he took over Ramland in 887. He invaded the Nordic Kingdom the same year, cunningly placating its populace and forming a satellite state. In a series of cunning political maneuvers, the Ramsons relocated the imperial capital to Lord Trailer City in their satellite Duchy of Laura, allied with the Ramsay Kingdom to the south, and with their majority in Council also governed the imperial Laurian Province.

The Ramsons waged the first imperial war, called the First War, in 886 b. OW, as a means to consolidate their authority. They led a successful campaign against the tribes of Maal, further enlarging their dominion. Over the next few years, Ramland and Ramsey conquered more land and created the provinces of Sandram, Sandara, and the Sultanate of Sofi. Their majority in council, and control over the empire, was complete.

Ramsey's Rule

The Desertification Crisis in 860 b. OW caused serious damage to the Litchian food supply, and led to the collapse of the Ramson Dynasty. Ramsey betrayed its weakened ally and destroyed the Duchy of Ramland, taking on the mantle of most powerful province for itself. Ramland turned into the independent Everflow, and the Ramsey-Sandara-Sofian bloc now had the majority in council.

An Andan expeditionary force landed on Litchy in 799 b. OW, and fought the Battle of Southcoast. This event decisively demonstrated that armies comprised out of provincial militias could not compare to real enemies, which led to some reforms in the Cuprien military and militia system. Ramsey also used the occasion to casually occupy the western part of the Yellow province; however, their troops were eventually ousted by Landram's rebellion, and the Lordship of Landram became a new imperial province. The Clans of Yellow, which had gone somewhat forgotten and degenerated to fiendish cults, was relegated to the status of allied province.

Northern Turmoil

Goblin tribes from the Gschondor Empire began raiding northern Litchy. In response, Cuprien sent the imperial army to invade Glacier. The Gschondors were decisively defeated during the Battle of the Ice Peaks in 777, and Tkrorr fell two years later. The conquered territories became the new Gschondor province, which however relatively quickly seceded from the empire because it had little in common with the Surin aristocracy and received no support from the Council when it had asked for it. Additionally, Armuria - which had incurred major costs waging the war - suffered some domestic turmoil. The northern farmers seceded and formed the new Vivien Province, while Armuria itself fell into the hands of private businessmen who knew how to use the province's strong location, resources, and factories optimally.

In 732, the Gleshrian Alliance sunk into civil war. In the end, the new Eneloni Kingdom joined the Cuprien Empire, and the weak Glesher became an allied province.

Hunger and Imperialism

The Cuprien Empire increasingly suffered from food shortages, even as it developed into the largest and most powerful state in the west. To solve this problem, it began aggressively pursuing an expansionist policy, and forced the Greentree Alliance to join the Cuprien Empire in 567 b. OW. In 554, Pan became an allied province because it wanted to profit from Cuprien trade and military protection without fully joining it.

Then Cuprien began a campaign of Archaen colonialism in earnest. In a challenging conquest, the island of Conelu was invaded and made into an imperial province. Loneisle, south of Conelu, was also incorporated and used as a forward naval base and trading station.

The Dragon War was waged between 513 - 512 b. OW. This was important for the Cuprien Empire, because it was immediately next to the action and played an important role in most of the fighting. It also for the first time received proper insight into the technologies and knowledge of the east, leading to considerable innovations in economic and military domains. The Cupriens also developed their first steamship for the occasion.

The north revolted and founded the Nordic Kingdom in 324 b. OW.

The Savage Threat

Ogres, with the help of a destructivist cult of Urg'Neval, landed on Glacier and began its slow conquest. Gschondor fell in 291 b. OW, and ogres began crossing the Freezing mountains to raid Cuprien's northernmost provinces. The earnest ogre assault began in 274, in what was known as the Eastern War. Imperial units fought to defend Eneloni and Glesher, but were slowly beaten back. The Nordic Kingdom had refused to help, and so it was left to its fate; it fell in 272. In the ensuing Western War, the Cupriens finally managed to stem the ogre advance at the Duchy of Pan.

The Coalition had repeatedly offered to send military or economic aid, but the Council of Plenty refused. Armuria, a prominent province bloc, did not want to give up its monopoly on metal weaponry and tools; accordingly, only minimal Coalition aid in the form of trade licences and volunteer medical help was allowed. But political pressure on the nobles mounted: all the civilized realms were forging a great unitarian coalition, while Cuprien's nobles fought the war alone out of pure greed. Accordingly, the Council had to give in, and formed the Sylvo-Human League with the Kingdom of Silur in 232. This was a militarily alliance publicized as an equal to the Coalition, but in truth it barely benefitted Cuprien and was mostly a political tool.

Things started to fall apart half a century later. There were disputes between Armuria and Vivien, and the Duchy of Landram - with Armurian support, and mostly to gain power and resources - declared the Clans of the Yellow Fiend had betrayed the empire, promptly invading them. The Duchy of Pan, unhappy because it was carrying the brunt of the war effort, annexed two Delaian Waterduchies and caused yet more interprovincial tensions. And, finally, the imperial province of Conelu fought successfully for its autonomy, claiming the status of full province for itself.

The League was officially dissolved in 103 b. OW, when the ogres invaded Silur and Litchy during the Third Treesmasher War. Huge forces pushed against the Cuprien defensive line in Pan. Sofi and Ramsey, two secondary provinces, decided to put politics aside and form the Province of War, a province with little autonomy and a single representative in council, which was solely devoted to fighting the war.

The savages pulled back their forces in 90 b. OW to reform their forces and build fleets in both the Soulford and the Greenford, before resuming the attack five years later in the Laurian Offensive. Thanks to effective strategies and heroic efforts, Cuprien still managed to hold the enemy hosts at bay. However, Pan - which had earlier been the strongest province - found itself in a weak position. It was completely reliant on imperial resources and its economy was in shambles, something Landram and Armuria decided to profit from by staging a coup. The capital was relocated to Landram and the Landram-Armurian bloc was now the most powerful faction in the council.

Pan fell to the savages in 54 b. OW because its defenders were simply outnumbered. The enemy host managed to cross the Ram Delta, and imperial forces were increasingly backed into a corner. Finally, Landram-Armuria had to give in and in winter 51 - the year many imperial officers expected would be Cuprien's last - an agreement was closed with the Coalition. The Coalition's powerful armed forces now fought side by side with the Province of War and imperial army, successfully stopping the savage advance.

But the empire was not at the end of its troubles. Armuria, desperate to secure some profits, started a lengthy civil war against Vivien. And the savages continued pressing onward, despite the Coalition's assistance. Landram fell in 12 OW, and the entirety of Cuprien was left with only Conelu. Hundreds of thousands had fled the continent and were sheltered in new underground settlements beneath Conelu. The Council of Plenty was replaced with the Council of War in 14 OW, and Cuprien's transition into a wartime Caverealm state was complete.